


Scarred Pasts

by tobethefairybest



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, mescana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-10-01 07:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10184231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobethefairybest/pseuds/tobethefairybest
Summary: The Fairy Tail guild is reunited, one year after the horrible battle against the Underworld. While rebuilding the guildhall, a familair face shows up... As far as I know this is the very first Mest x Cana (MesCana) fanfic! Enjoy!Disclaimer: I own this story on ff.net (I wrote it in 2015) and I reposted it here on AO3It has a prequel (A Match made in Hell) that can also be found here and on ff.net





	1. The Man with the Mark

"Who will be our seventh guildmaster?"

Those words might as well have been a whistle signal to start a free fight match.

Elfman hit Natsu's left jawbone with his huge fist before the dragonslayer could even turn to him. Natsu retaliated by hitting him back twice as hard, which caused Elfman to be sent flying, taking a shirtless Gray along with him.

Max, Jet, and Droy, not willing to just sit back and watch others fight for the title, decided to jump into the brawl as well.

Cana looked around and her attention was caught by a familiar warm light that appeared not far from where Lucy was standing; Loke had opened his gate by himself again. Lucy squealed, ''Loke! What are you even thinking?! You scare the crap out of me every time you do that!'' Cana found herself staring at him.

She sure had missed having the flirty, orange haired man around. Ever since he had become Lucy's spirit he hasn't shown up in the guild in his human form often. He had always been a good friend of hers and above all; one would never hear her complain about handsome male company.

Their eyes met and Cana knew what he was up to; joining the fight. She smirked and decided she would join in as well, what did she have to lose? She launched some attacks with her cards on Max and Droy and for a moment that feeling was back. She hadn't been using magic for a long time and unleashing it at almost full power made her heart double its beat. She felt new energy flowing through her veins and she couldn't hold back a maniac laugh.

After she hit a few more fellow guild members, she decided to take a rest. Using up so much magic after not using it for a while was very exhausting.

She sat down on a bench, crossed her legs, folded her arms, and leaned back. Cana looked at the scene and sighed; some things will never change.

Even though everybody was back, the group didn't feel complete, perhaps because of the absence of the ThunderGod tribe fawning over Laxus, who was nowhere to be found either, or was it her father who she hadn't heard from for over a year? Probably not considering Gildarts has been gone on long jobs so many times that she has gotten used to it, even after their emotional reunion on Tenrou Island.

She would never admit it, but she has been feeling lonely ever since the guild had disbanded. Fairy Tail has been her home since her mother died and she never thought it would ever come to an end.

But it did.

She had to move into a cheap apartment in the suburbs of Magnolia. She tried to contact her friends in Quarto Cerberus but, alas, their guild is male-only, so joining them wouldn't be an option.

She has been heartbroken and mad at Gramps. How could he just break up the guild right after such a horrible battle against the Underworld itself? At a time they all needed each other the most, he just drove them apart by taking away their only home.

But even after all he did, she still was worrying about him. Nobody has heard anything from him since...

She found herself drifting off in her thoughts and came back to reality by the sound of wood being crushed to splinters just a few feet from her. ''This fight is getting out of hand," she murmured to herself. ''Now the guildhall will be destructed before it has been rebuild.''

Levy was sitting behind her desk not far from Cana. She could hear the rushed scribbling of the Solid Script mage on the paper that was in front of her. How could she even focus with all that noise?

The blue haired girl suddenly stood up and placed her hands on the desk, "Listen up guys!'' Levy tried to shout over the noise of her fellow guild members. ''I am almost done with the paperwork that is needed to revive the guild and make it official by the magic council. All I need to know is who is going to be the new guildmaster!"

"Yes, we know, Shrimp!'' Gajeel gruffly yelled. ''What d'ya think we are all fightin' about?"

Levy's cheeks oddly turned red in an instant.

''Something must have happened between those two in the last 12 months,'' Cana thought devilishly, grinning at the thought of mocking the iron dragonslayer about this. ''Levy and Gajeel had been colleagues at the council for Mavis' sake.''

Right. The council. They had to be replaced after the entire previous members had been blown up by Tartaros. Except for Doranbolt, who had helped them in the fight and saved Wendy again.

Come to think of it, what happened to him? Neither Levy nor Gajeel had mentioned him still being a member of the council. Had he quit his job? He lost his colleague and best friend after all, that must have been rough...

"Get back to work!" a solid, threatening female voice barked.

In an instant everyone got quiet. Everybody seemed to freeze, because they all knew what the consequences would be if they even dared to move one more muscle.

Levy cleared her throat and said, "I guess it's settled then; our seventh guildmaster will be Erza Scarlet!"

"WHAT?!" everybody exclaimed in jaw dropping disbelief. ''ERZA?!''

Even though the guys were upset about not being able to end the fight with a winner, they obediently accepted Levy's decision because nobody would ever dare to pick a fight with Erza.

"They couldn't have chosen a better guildmaster than you," a low voice called out of nowhere.  
Everybody turned their heads towards the direction the foreign voice had come from.

A tall man with raven black, messy hair and dark grey eyes stood at the place where once the guild hall entrance had been. He was wearing odd clothing; baggy trousers and a sleeveless vest that revealed his broad shoulders.

Something seemed familiar about him, maybe his hair or was it his eyes? Whatever it was, it definitely was not the crimson Fairy Tail guildmark on his left upper arm.

A new member? Cana was sure she knew him, but somehow her brain was stuck. It was like there was some kind thick fog coating her memory, like a locked door that wouldn't let her retrieve any kind of information on the man in front of her.

"Who the heck are you?" Natsu exclaimed, "Tell us who you are or I will—OUCH!" He flinched, whirling around to give Lucy a look of disdain since she had hit him on the back of his head.

Lucy countered his annoyed expression with a scowl of her own as she chided, "You are not in a fight anymore! Don't be such a rude idiot!"

The unknown person unfolded his arms and stared at the ground below him. "I have been waiting for all of you to get together here again. The time has finally come"

''He has been waiting for us?''

''The time has come?''

The whispers spread through the group. What was this man even talking about? Everybody was confused by the sudden arrival of this stranger, who seemed to be sputtering nonsense. but was he really a stranger?

He lifted his head and the moment their eyes met, Cana suddenly realised; the low voice, those grey, sad eyes, and the huge scar that crossed the right side of his face…

The locked door in her mind flung open; this man was none other than Doranbolt.

No wonder nobody could recognise him, his hair has grown longer and his clothes were totally different than the outfits he wore as a council member.

But why did he have a guildmark? What was he doing here?

''The only ones that could save master Makarov are you guys."


	2. Reunion

''The only ones who can save master Makarov are you guys''

''You know where Gramps is? Where is he?! Tell us!'' Natsu yelled while jumping forward to confront the newcomer. He did not reach far as he was tugged—more like choked—back by somebody holding his scarf.

''Hold it'' Erza calmly said, ''Let him speak''.

Gajeel walked up to them. he seemed quite leery, a remain of his time at the council. ''How do we freakin' know if we can trust this guy? We don't even know who he is!'' He waltzed up to the man, took an intimidating stand and folded his scarred arms. ''Let 'm tell us his name first," he said in a low growling voice, while his blood red eyes seemed to pierce the other man's face.

''Seriously?'' Cana thought in bewilderment, ''nobody recognises him? Were their memories wiped clean of his existence by his magic? No, that couldn't be because then she wouldn't be able to retrieve any memories of him. Anyway, somebody had to stand up for him now.

''His name is Doranbolt! ''

Everybody stopped talking and turned their head to the bench Cana has stood up from.

She waver her hand out, ''None of you remember him?''

Her fellow guildmembers shared puzzled looks with one another.

Cana gritted her teeth, they seriously don't remember? ''Don't say you've already forgotten about him after just one year!''

Damnit, why did she feel so uncomfortable? She was right about him being Doranbolt, wasn't she?

''Of course I would never forget about Doranbolt-san!'' Wendy shouted from the other side of the crowd. The tiny dragonslayer was already close to tears. ''I just, I just - didn't recognise him instantly.'' She turned to Doranbolt. ''I am so sorry!''

Gajeel turned his head back to the man he was trying to intimidate a moment ago and as if he was struck by lightning, he too now realised; this was the man who was once the head of the magic council.

''It's okay Wendy. My magic alters people's memories. Can even make people forget even if I didn't use it on purpose... Would you let me explain everything to you guys now?" He eyed Gajeel gently, "May I, Captain Redfox?''

The iron dragon slayer grunted, moving to the stood aside.

''Doranbolt?'' Erza said, staggering forwards, ''But how- when- your guildmark?''

''As I said, I will explain everything, if you let me talk. And by the way, my name isn't Doranbolt anymore , it's Mest, Mest Gryder,'' he said when he looked at Cana from the corner of his eye. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head, '''Must be confusing huh? Sorry for all the haziness I have caused you guys. ''

''It's fine, there's no need to be sorry'' Erza said back, ''we're all... glad to have you back with us.''

Damn Cana needed a drink, this confusing situation made her uncomfortable and some liquor was just what would fuel her well known confidence.

At the construction pit, a sloppy-built wooden bar was set up. It was nothing more than a high long table with some chairs, but it was good enough for the hardy drinkers of the guild. Mirajane has taken her beloved place behind the bar as soon as it was set up. She has been working in bars even after the guild was disbanded. She even taught Elfman some of the barman skills. Something everybody liked to joke about.

''One whiskey please,'' Cana requested while she plumped down on one of the dangerously cracking chairs.

"Oh dear, it's just 10 am, that's early for such strong drinks, even for you sweetie," Mira commented with concern.

''I don't care, as long as it is strong, I really need it now. I haven't had any booze since yesterday morning''

''Everybody is so glad to be back but it sure is mentally heavy,'' the take-over mage mused. "Meeting everybody after being a year apart comes with many emotions. I know this is your way of dealing with yours but please don't forget to take care of yourself.''

''Tch, I have been drinking since I was twelve, don't worry, I'm used to it,'' Cana gleamed, ''I bet the alcohol is even used to me now.''

Mirajane laughed, this was the Cana she knew, but somehow she felt like the card mage was drinking away her emotions again like she has done around the S-Class trials. She really deserved somebody to lean on whenever she needed to. Of course she had her father but he was gone so often and she had refused to keep in contact with him when he was on jobs. She would always have her friends at her side, but they couldn't be around her all the time. It was such a shame she has never been in a serious relationship. Something stable was just what she would need in her life.

''Thanks Mira,'' Cana said lazily as she accepted the small glass of liquor. She took a sip and surveyed her surroundings. She was the only one to sit at the bar; Macao and Wakaba had run over to the spot where everybody was standing because of the sudden appearance of Mest. ''Jeez, why all the fuzz?'' She murmured to herself, ''He had returned just like most of the other guildmembers and based on his new guildmark, Makarov has made him a member, what's the big deal?''

She spotted the newest member in the crowd at the guild's construction site. Well, you wouldn't hear her complaining about him. One year sure hasn't made him look worse. Hell no, he looked more mature than ever.

Has he always been this cheerful around others? She couldn't even remember him smiling, perhaps because every time he had been with the guild was at critical times when their lives were at stake.

He was even laughing loudly with the rest. This sure was an unexpected reunion. A whole year has created so many memories for each of them to share. She knew serious things had to be discussed, like Makarov's whereabouts for example, but for now everybody just wanted to share their stories and adventures.

Next to Mest was Wendy, who seemed to be telling him everything she had experienced after she joined Lamia Scale. ''That little girl'' Cana thought, ''she seemed so innocent in her shy behaviour, but that introvert kid reached the level of activating Dragon Force last year and destroyed one of the Face devices. That's not somebody to mess with.''

Mest was attentively listening to the little girl with a gentle smile on his face. Everybody knew he had a weak spot for the sky dragonslayer. Cana was surprised Wendy wasn't the one to recognise him before she did.

She looked away from the blue haired girl back to Mest, only to find him staring back at her. He smiled widely and waved. She was surprised by this gesture but she just waved back. ''This was so unlike him, or maybe it wasn't, how much do they actually know about him? Oh screw it, who cares anyway? ''She was just about to continue her drink when she noticed him walking toward the bar. Great, another thing she wasn't in the mood for; talking. Why couldn't people just leave her alone for once?

She decided to just pretend she had never seen him making his way towards the bar. Nothing would come between her and her alcohol, not now.

But it already seemed too late as she heard a male voice on her left;

''Is this chair occupied?''


	3. Bartalks

"Is this chair occupied?"

Cana looked up from her glass, "I don't see anybody sitting on it, do you?"

Mest chuckled, "Still as spry as ever, aren't you?" He lifted himself onto the chair next to the dreary girl.

"Tch, how would you know? You only know my name," she sneered.

His smile vanished as he darkly thought to himself, She still doesn't... damn it...but I can't tell her. Not now" He rested his folded arms on the bar, tapping his fingers and stared to the row of beer glasses in front of him. "Yeah you're right, who am I to assume things like that?"

His cheerfulness has melted away like frost under the morning sun and Cana felt guilty. Maybe she shouldn't have been so rude. She couldn't help it that she can be so grumpy at times. Time for a change of attitude, "Never mind that, should I order you a drink as well?"

He turned his head towards her, "Normally I wouldn't say no, but after what happened 9 years ago, I only drink at special occasions."

The card mage looked at him in disbelief, "You mean, after what happened on Tenrou Island? You started... drinking?"

He turned his head back to continue his stare at the beer glasses, "I don't feel like talking about that. Sorry..."

"It's okay!" she offered a small smile. "We all have things we don't want to talk about, don't we?"

He sighed, "Yes, we all do." Slowly a smile returned on his scarred face. Then he sat up straight and turned to her while resting one arm on the bar, "But how have you been doing this past year, Cana? Did you join another guild as well?"

She sure liked the way his mood changed again, people always look way better when they smile. "Well, at first I thought about joining my friends at Quattro Cerberus but as you know, they are a male-only guild." She grinned, "So that wasn't an option. I bought a small apartment in the suburbs of Magnolia and as soon as I had settled in, I went on several jobs. It was hard to find a job as a mage who isn't in a guild anymore though..."

"Didn't you go looking for your father?"

"Looking for that old fart?" Cana asked incredulously with her eyebrows raised. "Why would I?! Wait, how do you know who my father is?"

He laughed at her surprised expression, "You really care about him, don't you?" Cana rolled her eyes, something he laughed even harder at. "I was part of the magic council. It was my job to know every member of every guild, especially the names of the people of the most troubling guild in Fiore," he winked.

Cana felt her cheeks turn red, time to change subject. "Speaking of guilds," she pointed at the Fairy Tail guildmark on his right upper arm, "how did you get that?"

He laid his hand over the tattoo and looked away with gritted teeth. "I promised myself to tell that to the new guildmaster first, whomever it would be at the time I returned."

Cana seemed puzzled, "You can't just tell it?"

Mest didn't let their eyes meet, "No, I can't, I'm sorry…I should have covered it before I came here to avoid questions. Maybe I shouldn't have talked to so many people beside the guildmaster."

He stood up and turned around to leave but Cana grabbed his forearm to halt him, "Come on, why is it such a big deal?!"

He turned his head to the card mage, his facial expression has changed again, he seemed irritated and his steel grey eyes darkened, "Cana, why do you always start to shout whenever you don't get what you want?" He jerked his arm back, took a step closer and hissed, "Please lower your voice so everyone doesn't have to hear this."

Cana looked at him in awe, Why did he keep saying things like that? How dare he! "Quit pretending to know me already!" she snapped back at him. "You don't know me at all!"

He took a step back and felt that people were now noticing their little argument. This is bad, he thought anxiously, I have to get out of this quickly.

"I-I'm sorry Cana, I will tell you later, I promise. But now I have to discuss important matters with Erza." He turned on his heels and walked off, leaving a stunned Cana behind. He picked up his pace. I will only make things worse if she finds out now. Priorities, he had to find Erza as soon as possible.

"What's that guy's problem?!" The card mage turned her head to the bar, brought the small glass of whiskey to her mouth and gulped it down in one swig. She wanted to drink until she didn't have to remember anything about this awkward moment anymore, "Mirajane?" Where did she go? Has she been listening?

"I am here!" she heard a high pitched voice calling from the entrance of the cellar behind the bar. The white haired mage's head popped up, "I had to bring back the glasses I cleaned yesterday. Is something wrong? Did I miss something?"

Cana shoved the glass away from her, "Nah, not really…Can you pour me another glass? I really need to get wasted right now."

The takeover mage lifted an eyebrow in disbelief, "Are you sure nothing happened?

I could have sworn I heard shouting when I was down in the basement."

Cana felt herself losing her patience, "Mest was here, that's all. Now can you pour me another glass?"

Mira ignored her request, "He was here just a moment ago? That's a shame, I would have liked to talk to him too. What did you guys talk about?"

"Nothing, he wouldn't tell me why he is part of the guild now and he suddenly got angry and left."

Mirajane has heard enough arguments in the guild over the years to know Cana was hiding something, "Did he upset you?"

Cana jaw clenched in frustration. "He talked to me like he knew me. That jerk. Can you believe that?!"

Mirajane walked towards her and tried to comfort her by gently touching her shoulder, "Calm down, sweetie, he was probably just trying to be nice to you."

Cana slapped Mira's hand away, "No, you don't understand!" Mirajane took a step back in shock. "He knew I went looking for my father, he knew I like to make mean comments I don't mean, he knew I always start to shout when I don't get what I want! How could he possibly know about those things while he only knows my name and face?! I have never talked to him before and still he acts like we've been friends forever!" She smashed her fist on the wooden table. There was a long pause. "Mira, he thought everybody died on Tenrou Island 9 years ago. He fell into an alcohol addiction because he thought it was all his fault since he had to ability to save some people! He drank away his pain, just like—" tears welled up in her purple eyes, "just like— I do, all the time. I just drink it away, damn it!" She buried her face into her folded arms on the bar and started sobbing.

Finally, Mirajane thought to herself, finally she dropped her 'I'm okay' act and emptied her heart to her. She laid her hand on the sobbing card mage's shoulder once again, this time Cana allowed her to. "It's okay, sweetie, cry all you want."

"If you could stop whinin'," a rasping voice suddenly said, "I could actually hear what's going on down there!" Both mages looked up in surprise and saw the iron dragonslayer kneeled on the ground with one hear pressed against the soil.

"What are you talking about Gajeel? There is nobody in the basement, I just got back from it and I can assure I was the only one there," Mira informed him.

"This isn't in the basement, it has to be in some sort of other underground room we don't know about."

Mirajane was stunned, a secret room beneath the guild hall? "Whose voices do you hear?"

"So far I've only heard Mest and Erza."

"Oh my...Just the two of them?" Mira placed her hands over her mouth.

"Shh" he hissed "I thought I heard that Salamander and Bunny-girl and Iceprick too."

"Gray-sama! Do you know where Gray-sama is?!" Fairy Tail's water mage was running towards the bar. "Juvia needs to know!"

With one more person to disturb his focus, Gajeel could feel his patience drop to zero as a vein popped above his eye, "Can all of you just shut your damn mouth-OUCH!" He quickly turned his head to see who had hit him and found himself looking up to Levy, who stood over him with her hands on her hips.

She chided with a pout, "I can hear your cursing from the other side of the construction site, behave a little will you?"

He grumbled and turned his head back to the ground. Levy, still standing with her hands on her hips, tilted her head, "What are you even doing?"

The dragonslayer waved his hand towards her, which she understood to be sign to be silent.

Mirajane walked over to Levy, placed her hand next to the tiny wizard's ear and whispered, "He can hear Erza, Mest and some others talk in a room beneath the construction site."

Levy's eyes widened and she looked back at the black haired man on the ground. "I missed a part but I think I get what this is 'bout," Gajeel said without releasing his ear from the sandy floor, "Mest is talking 'bout the time he infiltrated our guild as a council member."

Cana wiped the remaining strains of tears away with the back of her hand, damn she really let herself go. She sat up straight, "Yes we know about that, he infiltrated our guild on Tenrou Island with his memory manipulation magic. He let us all think he was part of us."

Again he waved his hand, "Shh, there's more. He is talkin' about his encounters with Makarov."

Suddenly Gajeel's focused expression froze. Levy knew he heard something disturbing, he looked like he had just seen a ghost. "What's wrong ? What did he say?"

Gajeel sat down on his knees, still with a petrified look on his face, "Makarov is currently in Arvaless." He slowly said in a monotone voice.

"That's good news, right?" Mirajane squealed while she clapped her hands.

Cana knew something wasn't right, "Gajeel, what else did you hear?"

The pierced dragonslayer took a deep breath, "Doranbo- I mean Mest, he-he wasn't a council member who infiltrated Fairy Tail by altering our memories..." Cana lifted one eyebrow, not a council member? What was he talking about? "He altered our memories by erasing everybody's memory of him and his own memories of us when he joined the council..."

"What does that even mean?" Cana scoffed in impatience as a strange chill overtook her.

Gajeel swallowed thickly, "Mest erased every memory of him being a member of Fairy Tail."


	4. The Third Guy

"Mest erased every memory of him being a member of Fairy Tail."

The mages stared at the pierced man in disbelief of what he had just told them.

Cana rapidly blinked while her mind tried to process the words she just heard. He was a member of our guild? This couldn't be? Right? Gajeel must have misheard it. But on the other hand, that would explain his new guildmark and his odd behaviour.

"What?! You mean-you mean...he was a member of our guild after all?" Mira squealed.

"From what I've heard, he left the guild to infiltrate the council on the old man's request when he was 18, 2 years before what happened at Tenrou," said Gajeel.

"Keep listening Gajeel," Levy hastily said. "What else does he say?" She was clenching her tiny fists, unable to handle her natural curiosity.

The dragonslayer, still looking pale, turned his head back to the ground and put his ear against it, while the guild remained silent, everybody was still shocked about what they had just heard.

Cana turned on her chair, away from the group and started calculating, "If he left Fairy Tail 2 years before Tenrou, that means..." she counted on her fingers, "that means I was 16 when he left. We were almost the same age. Realisation struck her like lightning. This means we must have spent our entire childhood together and yet I can't seem to remember any of it.

That was it, everything Mest had said to her finally made sense. He hadn't acted like he knew her; he did actually know her.

Her eyebrows knitted together in thought, But because he successfully left Tenrou before Acnologia descended, he is 29 now and I am 20. Man, this is confusing. She felt a headache coming on, something she hadn't suffered from since she got used to hangovers.

"He finished talkin'," Gajeel said, sitting up again. "The only other information I've got is that he erased his own memories of bein' in the guild when he infiltrated the council but they started to come back about 1 year after Tenrou Island."

1 Year after Tenrou... Cana stared at the ground beneath her. That means he started drinking when he realised the people he left behind on that island were his own friends.

"He told Makarov 'bout it during the Grand Magic Games, but Mest decided to keep it a secret from the rest of the guild and continue his mission."

"If he left the guild 2 years before Tenrou," Juvia said, lost in thought, "then that means he left just before Gajeel and Juvia joined the guild, right?"

"Yes, that explains why you have no memory of him at all." Levy confirmed.

The card mage still couldn't believe the story she had just heard; Mest has been part of the guild. He has shared his entire childhood with us, maybe even his entire life until he left. But he erased his and everybody else's memory for a mission given by Gramps. Did Mest and I use to be friends? Were we rivals? Did we go on missions together? Who did he even hang around with? Why didn't he tell me this when we were talking just a moment ago when he was going to tell the rest anyway? Her mind was spinning because of all the questions whirling around in her head. The headache that had been coming on was really coming through now.

"They left and are headed to where the old man is," Gajeel said, breaking through her murky thoughts.

She jumped up, "They left? You mean they are coming up right now? We need to speak to Mest, we need more answers!" She needed more answers.

Mirajane held her back, "Cana, think! Mest must have teleported everybody along with him! Nobody knows where they will show up. They could already be in Alvarez as we speak!"

"That leaves us no choice then…" Gajeel smirked. He looked at the mages in front of him, perfect, this group brings back memories of the Grand Magic Games. "We're forming a B Team!"

"That actually isn't a bad idea," Cana thought as she also noticed that they were almost the complete B Team. "We have to catch up with Mest and Team Natsu if we want to know where Gramps is." She balled her fist; and Mr. Gryder had a lot to explain to her.

"Hey, what about me?!" the tiny solid script mage stood in front of Gajeel pouting. The iron dragonslayer looked down, "Oy, Shrimp," he smirked, "must've overlooked ya.

"We're not complete," the takeover mage carefully said. "You know, Laxus isn't here and nobody knows where to find him."

"Don't worry," Gajeel grinned while he easily pushed away Levy, who was trying to beat him repeatedly with her tiny fists. "I know just where to find the lightning bastard."

Mira's face flushed, "You-you do?"

Cana teasingly poked Mira with her elbow, "My, my, Mira. Is there something we all need to know?"

"What?! N-No, really, I am just- worried about him. That's all."

"Juvia thinks you two would make a great couple."

"That-that's not—" Mira nervously tried to deny, but was interrupted by a fired up Gajeel, who already had taken the lead. "Pack yer stuff folks, we're leaving as soon as possible. We are going to visit some friends."

Levy facepalmed upon the sight of Gajeel marching around like he did when they were on fieldwork with the council. Nothing could make him more cheerful than being given a leading role over a group of people. As long as he doesn't get all big headed…

Juvia was already getting impatient upon the thought of seeing Gray again, "Visit some friends?! Gajeel-kun, we're going to get Laxus back and then catch up with Team A!"

"Oy, don't get so worked up, I know what I'm doing!"

Cana tried to overlook the chaos, "So where are we going then? Which friends are we going to visit?"

Levy showed up from behind her and comfortingly put a hand on her shoulder, "When Gajeel and I were working at the council, we tracked down every other former Fairy Tail member. We know where the whole Thundergod Tribe is. They joined some friends of ours."

"Did they join Sabertooth?" Cana inquired curiously. "I heard Laxus could get along well with his thunder buddy Ogra."

"Or did they become a member of Lamia Scale?" Juvia guessed. "Jura and Laxus became friends after the Grand Magic Games."

"You'll never guess it, but you'll see soon enough, ghihi."

Cana overlooked the group. Were they really going to do this? It is such a rushed plan, but we have no other choice if we want to catch up with the other group.

The group was disturbed by the sight of two white haired people walking up to them.

"Lisanna, Elfman?"

"Oy Mira, you don't plan on leaving without us right? I may have been a Team A member, but I am not involved in their mission. I saw they took along Wendy with them. I don't feel replaced since I am a man, but Lisanna and I are not staying here if you go along with them, big sis."

"Just admit you heard they know where Ever is, Elf-niichan," Lisanna said pouting while she tried to look serious, something she rarely succeeded in since it only made her look cuter. "You know that Mira will be fine without us, so quit the lame excuses."

Elfman faked a cough while he tried to avoid his younger sister's piercing glare.

"Oh my, so that's what has been occupying you on your training journey, little brother," Mira teased while winking.

"No that's not—" Elfman flustered to reply but he too was interrupted by the iron dragonslayer; "You can discuss your lovey-dovey stuff while we are on our way. Hurry up and pack yer stuff. We're kinda in a hurry."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long had they been walking now? It must have been at least 4 hours. Cana's feet started to feel sore and the headache that had been slumbering all day finally seemed to succeed in making her brain hurt like hell. Especially when Juvia started whining about not being on the same team as Gray and when Levy and Gajeel started bickering—actually it was more like flirting.

Elfman was growing impatient, "Gajeel, are you sure we're still going in the right direction? I mean do you still know we're heading for Ev- ehr I mean Laxus?"

"Just another mile and we'll reach a resort where we'll rest for a bit. There I will tell you guys where we're exactly headed, ghihi."

A resort? That would be great right now. Cana pace picked up upon that thought, but she regretted it instantly as the pain in her head was pounding harder against her skull with every step she took. Her vision was getting blurry and she leaned with her hand against a tree to prevent herself from getting dizzy.

Just when she expected her mind to go black, thoughts flew through her head. Or were they images? Memories perhaps? In just mere moments several flashbacks rushed through her brain.

Split second frames of memories, but from a different kind of view; she saw herself sitting at the bar of the first guildhall, going on a quest with Elfman and Laxus, watching Gildarts leave for the millionth time...

Apart from the point of view, something else was strange about these flashbacks. They seemed to be different than her actual memories of those events.

The headache faded away as her flashbacks became clearer. More memories of years ago came up, all with the same kind of view.

She knew what was odd about these flashbacks; in every one of them, there was the presence of an additional person. She couldn't recognise the person's face, as he was in front of her in every flashback. What the heck is going on with me? What are these memories?

"Are you okay Cana? Just less than a mile to- oh my! You look white as a sheet!"

Cana jolted in surprise as she noticed the take-over mage standing right next to her. "Yeah I am fine. I felt like fainting a moment ago though, those damn headaches"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ah man, this is just what we needed after such a hike," Cana sighed heavily as she let herself down in the steaming hot water.

"It sure is!"

"Juvia, come on! Don't be so awkward, there are no men here, it's just us!"

"Ju- Juvia is embarrassed…"

"Tch, and you're normally so bold in front of Gray."

"Speak of the devil, there he is!" Levy exclaimed with a mischievous smirk.

"GRAY-SAMA IS HERE?!" Juvia squealed as she dropped her towel and jumped into the hot spring.

"Of course he isn't, silly," Mira facepalmed, "but at least we got you into the water."

"OY, GAJEEL!" Cana shouted, moving closer to the wall that separated the female hot spring from the male's hot spring, "MIND TELLING US WHAT GUILD WE ARE HEADING FOR NOW?"

"Jeez, you don't have to shout that loud," a low voice called back, "the walls aren't made of bricks, ya know?"

"These hot springs actually are owned by Blue Pegasus, mennn."

"Wait, was that Ichiya?" Lisanna said slightly panicking.

"You mean Laxus is in... No freaking way!" Her older sister exclaimed as she covered her mouth.

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO TELL THEM THAT, NOW YOU'VE RUINED THE SURPRISE DAMNIT!"

A lot of noise and rambling could be heard from the other side until something came crashing through the thin wall...

The sound of Levy cursing at Gajeel had faded away.

"Juvia thinks she will never recover from that sight..."

"Actually I wouldn't be surprised if those two were making out in the changing room right now. They sure are bold." Cana gleamed as she leaned back with her hands behind her head.

"Says the one who has had the most boyfriends in the whole guild."

"Tch," Cana scoffed with her nose pointed in the air, "I have only had like 5. But I am sure that sounds like a lot to you guys since you all have been single forever."

"So, can you name all 5 of them then?" Mira backfired with a devilish grin.

"Sure I can," The card mage said as she sat straight up, "Let's see, the first was Gray."

"WHAT?!" Juvia jumped up from the water, which was already dangerously close to boiling the water mage heated it with her fury. "YOU DATED GRAY-SAMA?! HOW DARE YOU!"

"Haha calm down, we were like 10 years old and it was part of a bet, don't worry. I don't have any interest in him."

Juvia sat back but the water remained a few degrees warmer than it used to be.

Cana added her index finger to the thumb that was already sticking up, "The second one must have been Loke, the fourth one was that guy from Blue Pegasus and the fifth was Bachus. None of those relationships lasted long though, but I'm glad we're still friends. We sure had fun." she grinned.

Mirajane raised an eyebrow, "I think you skipped one, Cana."

"I did?" she looked at her hand and noticed that she did, in fact, only have 4 fingers up. "That's odd, I really thought I named five…"

"No, Juvia thinks you skipped number three."

"Yeah you did," Lisanna concurred. "So tell us, who's number three?"

"Number three, eh?" Cana said, lost in thought as she stared at the pinky finger that still was waiting to join the rest to complete her hand count.

This is odd. I'm sure I've been with 5 people. Why can't I recall all of them?

"Come on Cana! You can't forget your ex's name in just a few years, right? Or was it such a disaster?" Mira said as she started to laugh.

"I can't remember," Cana softly said more to herself than the others.

"What did you say Cana? Louder please. We would all like to know!" Lisanna prodded, laughing along with her older sister.

"I said I can't remember, damn it!"


	5. Chapter 5

"I said I can't remember, damnit!" Cana yelled as she jumped up and stormed out of the pool, leaving a confused group behind.

"What's gotten into her? We didn't say anything wrong, did we?" Lisanna worriedly asked, as she looked at the other girls.

"We might have…I will make sure she is okay. Let me look for her." Mirajane insisted.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Cana would have been running if it weren't for the slippery floor and her bare feet, so she stomped her way to the changing room. Her head started to feel heavy again and she found herself leaning against the wall to gain balance. I need to get to the changing room as soon as possible, she thought. The last thing I want is the rest to find me passed out naked on the floor

She could see the door of the girl's changing room and just when she was about to grab the handle, it already was being pushed down and the door swung open.

"Cana?!" a surprised Levy squealed. "Wha-What are you doing here? I-I thought you guys were still in the hot spring?"

Cana scanned Levy, she was already dressed, her hair was messy and her cheeks had attained a bright shade of red. Nobody had to ask her what happened, her looks said it all. "So Levy," Cana said with a devilish grin, "mind telling me what happened?"

"What?! Nothing happened! What are you talking about?!" Levy yelled, waving her arms in every possible direction while her face turned even redder.

Cana laughed at the tiny solid script mage who was hopelessly defending herself.

"I can better ask what you're doing in here alone, Cana. The toilets are at the other side of the building."

"Just another headache coming on. It gets worse in hot areas so I decided to leave and cool down here." It was partly true, the pain really was coming through again…

"I'm going outside, you should come too. Some fresh air is just what you'll need." Levy said, then scanning Cana up and down, the girl sheepishly smiled, "You may want to get dressed first though."

That's right, I'm still naked. "Yeah right, thanks."

Cana passed Levy as she walked into the changing room and as soon as she heard the door feel into its lock she sat herself down on one of the benches with her head cupped in her hands.

A familiar feeling struck her as the pulsing pain in her brain faded. The flashbacks were yet again, flickering through her mind.

Again, they were from a different kind of view. The memories that kept on popping up were clearer now than the last time she had these strange flashbacks.

The additional person was less hazy now, but still, she couldn't see a face. Who was this person? She tried as hard as she could to distinguish him. She could make out that the person was a boy around her age, maybe a bit older, and very short hair, almost bald.

A new flashback shot through her head, this one was even clearer than before. It was from her point of view and she recognised the park in Central Magnolia. She was sitting underneath the huge oak tree that marked the middle of the town. The one team Shadow Gear had been hanged on years after this memory...

In her memory she turned her head to the right, to look at the person who was sitting next to her. It was the same short haired guy, but still his face was turned in the opposite direction. This must be a more recent memory, since he looked older than before.

She stared down at the cold tiles beneath her bare feet. How on earth did these memories keep popping up? Why had she never remembered them before?

She tried as hard as she could to focus on the image in her head. The memory was still clear. She remembered what she said as she sat, while leaning her back to the ancient tree.

"You will be back, right?" She stared at the cloudless sky.

"Yeah I will, it might take over a year though…" the boy said back, still not making eye contact. "Be sure to remember me."

"Of course I will remember you, don't be so stupid, like I would forget you in just a year!"

The boy finally turned his head towards her.

Cana was struck by realisation as she still sat naked on the bench in the changing room. She felt the floor sink beneath her feet. The boy from her memory was wearing an earring on his right ear and on that same right side a huge scar marked his face.

It was Mest.

Now it all made sense. She was the one that used to hang out with him before he went on his mission and this must have been the last memory of him before he had left. She felt her stomach clench as she realised she did forget about him after all.

Until today, all these memories were wiped out by him. He knew everybody would forget about his existence the day he left the guild and still, he stayed loyal to Makarov and carried out his duty.

She tried to focus just once more, even though she felt tears welling up. This memory must be longer than the last.

"Are you crying? Jeez, don't be such a softie!"

The boy quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Sorry, I am just a little scared, that's all. I am sure you will do fine without me until I'm back. Just promise you will do your best at the S-Class trial next year, you sure are strong enough."

"You know I never look forward to the trials, Mest." Cana sighed, she hugged her knees to her chest. "Just be safe out there, I don't want you to get hurt."

He smiled, "I'm not scared of what I will encounter on my mission, I'm just afraid of my girlfriend forgetting about me..."

She sat up and lay her hand over his scar as she leaned in closely. "I promise," she rested her forehead against his, "I won't forget you." She closed her eyes as she leaned her mouth close to his so she could kiss—

"CANA?! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" There was a loud banging on the door followed by Mirajane storming in. "I am so sorry! We didn't know you would be so upse—Oh my! Look at you!"

Cana almost jumped up as she awoke from her concentration. She lifted her head and realised she still was naked, but she didn't care. She still couldn't believe the things she had just found out.

Mira stood in front of her, handing her a towel, "Get dressed and tell me everything. I know there is something going on."  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Seriously?!" The entire Team A looked at Mest in awe.

"Yo-You were dating Cana…before you left to infiltrate the council?" Lucy asked, still unable to comprehend the entire story he had just told them.

He looked down as he tried to avoid all the looks of the team. "Yes, I was."

"Then why did she never tell me about this? We're best friends, she would never hide something like that from me!"

"Like I said, I had to erase my existence from everybody in the guild's memory," Mest calmly said, "and that includes Cana's. I couldn't get myself to tell her before I left. She would have been against it. So it's true she never told you because she, herself, lost those memories as well."

"That's so heart breaking," Erza softly said as she blinked away a tear.

"However" Mest continued, "over the years, my transportation magic has become stronger but my memory manipulation magic has grown weaker, and as a result, I am sometimes unable to control it. I accidentally erased my own memory of being a Fairy Tail member again not long after the Grand Magic Games. Luckily, I was able to retrieve it because of Makarov, who also made my guildmark reappear."

He looked at the scarlet tattoo on his upper arm as a smile crept up his face. "We even used to fight over our guildmarks, Natsu," he grinned at the dragonslayer, who managed to respond even though the rocking motion of the ship made him sick like always. "Ehh? We did?"

"Yeah, I joined the guild before you did but still, you kept on saying you were the first with a red guildmark on his right upper arm."

"Really?" The pink-haired boy said in surprise. "I'd never have thought we got along so well as kids."

Lucy dropped her head as she facepalmed. "Good friends aren't supposed to fight all the time, Natsu…" She looked up again and saw him as he seemed to lose control over his stomach again. "Turn around, quick, stupid! Or you will vomit all over the floor!" The celestial mage squealed, pushing Natsu to the edge of the ship.

''I'd never thought about that before, about how we all used to get along with you when we were just kids.'' Erza softly said. ''It's such a shame we'll never remember anything about it... ''

''Jeez, why do women always get so emotional over sad stories?'' Gray said irritated, just loud enough for the red haired mage to hear his words and turn around.

''Because all of this has something to do with all of us, Gray! '' she shouted. ''A part of your memory was erased as well! Doesn't that even bother you one bit?''

Gray took a step back, ''Okay, okay I get it, calm down.'' But Erza was unstoppable if emotions took over, and everybody knew that.

''That man'' she pointed at Mest, ''has given everything for our guild, he even gave up the love of his life! Just imagine having to make the same choice, Gray. Would you still have gone on that mission you went on 6 months ago if you knew everybody would forget about your existence, including Juvia?! ''

Everybody turned their heads towards the stunned Ice mage. ''Wh- why do you bring her up, Erza?'' he stuttered.

Erza looked at him with a piercing glare as she crossed her arms, ''Please, don't act so foolish, everybody knows you two lived together, so stop hiding your feelings.''

An awkward silence followed. Only the sound of the calm waves rolling against the ship and the distant screams of seagulls could be heard. The silence was roughly broken by Natsu throwing up into the ocean once again.

Mest saw this as a great opportunity to escape the awkward situation and walked up to Lucy, who was petting the terribly sick dragonslayer on his back. "It's good to see there's young love in the guild as well. Things haven't changed, have they?" He said as he stared at the pairs of seagulls that were drifting over the ocean's waves.

Lucy felt her cheeks turn warm, he was talking about Gray and Juvia, right? "Are you going to tell Cana when you see her again, Mest?"

His rare smile vanished yet again. "The thing is, my magic seems to be wearing off and that can result in people regaining the memories I erased. I was hoping some of her memories had returned by now, like they returned to me. But unfortunately they didn't..." He stared down at the waves that crushed against the ship beneath him and gritted his teeth, "She wouldn't believe me if I told her our history…"

"Of course she would! You have to have faith in her!"

"But what if she really doesn't remember anything about us anymore?!" Mest said, raising his voice as he looked Lucy right in her eyes. Upon seeing her frightened reaction, he realised how much he let himself go. He took a step back and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's okay," Lucy smiled. She felt bad for him. He doesn't deserve all the sadness he had been through. And Cana deserved somebody like him in her life. "If you two really were in love, then she might fall in love with you again, right?"

His eyes widened, "You really think so?"

"THERE IT IS! THERE IS CARACALL ISLAND!" Erza suddenly yelled.

Mest raised his head to see the land appearing at the horizon. "Let our infiltration mission begin."


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure these are your own memories?" Mirajane asked in concern as she confronted the now-dressed card mage.

Cana locked her hands together as she rested her elbows on her knees, "I'm sure, Mira. Now I that I've seen them, it really is all coming back to me."

Mirajane smiled upon seeing her normally over confident friend so flustered. "So he was the third guy, hm?" Cana looked away, hiding her reddened cheeks from her friend. "I- I guess so... But I think I'll have to ask him myself as well to be sure." Her eyes widened as she came to realisation. Ask him?She jumped up in panic. "Mira, what am I supposed to say when I see him again?!" she yelled as flailed her arms around.

The take-over mage looked at her in surprise. "Cana, calm down sweetie, I'm sure he will understand."

"And what if he won't?!" Cana blurted out. "Why would he care about somebody who has long forgotten about him? Why would he care for a drunk snob? Why would he care about somebody like-like me?!" And just like that, her voice cracked and tears silently trickled down her cheeks.

Mira stood up and took her crying friend in her arms. "It's okay, Cana. Please don't call yourself things like that," she said as she hugged her tight. "It'll all be fine, I promise."

Suddenly, somebody knocked on the door. "Are you okay in there?" They heard a high pitched voice ask.

"Yes, it's okay, Levy, I'm with Cana," Mirajane replied.

"We'll wait for you outside.'' Levy said back, '' We are heading over to Blue Pegasus."

Mirajane took a step back while her hands remained on the card mage's shoulders. "Come on, Cana. Pull yourself together." She winked. "We have a team to catch up with."

\-----------------------------------------------------

"I ain't getting on that thing, ya know!"

"That thing is called Christina," Ichiya said in a slightly insulted tone. "She has feelings too you know?"

"It's just a damn ship, and as a dragonslayer, I refuse to set foot on it," Gajeel stubbornly backfired.

"This ship is suited for every type of mage. Even dragonslayers shouldn't have a problem travelling on it."

"See, Gajeel?" Levy said. "They thought of everything!"

Gajeel snorted. "I don't believe it. I need solid proof!"

"I guess I'll have to confirm it then," a low voice suddenly said. They all looked up to the entrance of the airship where a blond man stood.

"Laxus!" everybody exclaimed in surprise. The thunder dragonslayer walked up to them and behind him, three other familiar faces popped up.

"Bickslow, Freed and Ever too!" Lisanna squealed.

Elfman gulped as the honey blonde mage finally noticed him."Oh h-hey, Ever. Long-time no see, eh?" His older sister poked him not so gently with her elbow, "Just walk up to her! You haven't seen each other in over a year!"

Cana rested her arm around Mirajane's neck. "Then why don't you fly into your lover's arms, eh?" she said teasingly.

Mirajane jumped back as if she had just been stung. "Wh-what are you talking about, Cana?! We aren't lovers!"

"Who are lovers?" a low voice grumbled.

Mirajane turned around, only to find herself looking up into the blond dragonslayer's dark grey eyes. "W-well," she stumbled. I have to think of something quick. "Actually a lot of people! You won't believe all the couples that have formed over the past year!" The takeover mage happily squealed with a fake smile. "Çana. Don't leave me alone," she hissed over her shoulder, but the card mage had already walked up to Freed.

"How're you doing, Freed? Was it fun entertaining people at the Blue Pegasus guild?"

"Oh jeez, don't remind me of it. The jobs I have done were far beneath my standards."

Cana laughed. "I would have loved to see it."

"Trust me, you don't"

"Anyway," Cana said, "could you show me around on the ship, Freed?"

"Sure." he said as he turned on his heels and signed Cana to follow him.

"The view is amazing!" Cana exclaimed as she stared at the world around her. "You can see so much from the end of the ship's deck and we're not even up in the air yet!" She made a fist and imaginary punched the sky above her. "Let's head for Alvarez!"

"Mest! Teleport us away!" Erza screamed over the noise of the rushing sand that was trying to suffocate the whole group, but her request did not reach him.

"Damnit, I can't move! This sand is moving on its own!" Natsu yelled.

The Spriggan 12 member smirked upon the sight of the group that was hopelessly fighting against drowning in the sand pit of hell. "It's no use, Fairies! This sand dries everybody who comes in contact with it out from the inside! This is the end!"

A giant silhouette towered over Team A. "As long as I am alive, I will not let you harm my children!"

Lucy stared at the humongous human in terror. "Master! Don't do it! Don't sacrifice yourself to us!"

"Guess you'll be the first to die then," the sand mage said darkly.

"Master!"

The shadow that covered the group turned into a bright light as lightning suddenly struck down upon the sandstorm, causing it to break apart into a billion grains of sand.

Everybody looked up, knowing that this kind of lightening could only be the tell-tale sign of one person. "Laxus!" they all yelled. A new shadow fell over the group as the Christina lowered its altitude.

The thunder dragonslayer stood on its deck. He smiled down upon seeing the other half of his fellow guildmates. "You've grown old, gramps." He smirked.

"Mest! Are you there?!"

The transportation mage looked up to the airship that hovered over them. Somebody was yelling for him. Was that Cana's voice?

"Get everybody on board, right now!" she shouted.

With a lot of pain and effort, he gathered every last bit of magical power that he had left. "Coming right up!" he yelled back.

Within a second the entire group was transported to Blue Pegasus' ship. Cana turned around when she heard a loud noise behind her. The entire A team had dropped down onto the deck.

The first person to stand up of them was Cana's beloved friend, "Lucy!" The celestial spirit mage's eyes widened as she saw her friend ran towards her. "I am so glad you're okay!" The card mage squealed as she almost tackled Lucy into a hug.

"Did all of you make it to the ship? Is everyone okay?" Cana asked in concern.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Wendy! We need your assistance right now!" The two girls turned to the direction where Gray's voice was coming from. They couldn't see what was happening because everybody was standing around the scene.

Cana felt her heart skip a beat. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She felt the sweat on her back turn cold.

She was able to filter out some people's voices. "He's heavily injured by that creep's spatial magic and after that he used his magic a few times more!"

"That move he pulled must have taken a real toll on him." Who were they talking about? A shiver travelled down her spine.

"I'm here!" the tiny dragonslayer squealed as she ran past Cana and Lucy.

"What's going on?" Cana asked as she pushed a few people out of the way to see what the fuss was all about. Her breath caught as she took in the scene; Mest lying unconscious on the ship's deck.

He was only wearing swim wear and his body was covered in cuts and bruises. He was breathing heavily and a small stream of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. This can't be real.

Without any hesitation she kneeled down next to him and grabbed him by his shoulders. "Mest! Wake up!"

Before she could shake him she felt a hand grab her arm. "'Cana stop! You're interrupting Wendy's concentration!" She didn't even notice the tiny dragonslayer, who was preparing a magic healing circle.

"It's okay Lucy." Wendy said.

Cana felt tears welling up, "Wh-What happened? H-How did he end up like this?"

"He passed out because he was all out of magic power, but he'll be fine with some rest. It's the bleedings I am concerned about. I will try as much as I can."

Erza walked up to them. "When he was attacked by the space controlling mage on Caracal Island, he must have taken the most damage out of all of us. Mest's magic controls space too so the confrontation with the other space controller must have caused some sort of vacuum for a short time. Worst case, it caused too much pressure on his internal organs that he's bleeding out from the inside..."

Cana looked down at the beaten up man. Erza sighed, "He truly is something... He managed to transport himself to Makarov and back to save him from being killed by Zeref and with his last bit of power he transported the entire A Group up here."

Cana felt herself fill with guilt, the only thing she had been worried about was how to act during their reunion.

About what she would say…

About what he might still feel for her…

How could she not realise how dangerous the mission he went on was. How could she have been so damn selfish? She even was the one who made him use his magic once more.

"I'm done!" Wendy said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I've placed a magic seal that should stop his organs from bleeding. I will now use an enchantment that will cause his damaged organs to heal. After that he needs to rest for a while, so someone please take him to the barracks."

Elfman walked up to them. "You need a strong man? I'll carry him."

"I'll come along!" Cana insisted.

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at her friend in surprise. "Cana, did you by any chance...regain your memories?"

Cana looked back at her with eyes just as big. "How do you...?"

"I will explain later, just go along with Elfman now, I will tell you everything."

How long had she been sitting next to his bed already? 40 minutes? An hour? Well it's not like it mattered to her. All that mattered was that he was still unconscious and she couldn't do a thing to help him.

She watched him laying still as he breathed deep and irregular. She had cleaned the cuts and scratches on his face, but there sure would be some scars, like he didn't have enough of those already...

Cana would never have thought that their reunion after the team split-up would be like this. She had been worrying about what to say ever since she regained her memories earlier that day, but now that seemed so irrelevant.

She just wanted him to wake up and be okay already.

She looked down at the wooden floor and as the airship slightly tilted because of the wind's currents, she saw something shiny rolling over the floor. With a soft tick, it landed against her boot. She picked up the silvery object and held it close to her face to study it.

Her eyes widened when she realised what it was; it was Mest's beloved earring. It must have fallen out when Elfman carried him here.

She walked over to him and saw that he, indeed, was missing something on his right ear. She sat down at the edge of the bed and gently pricked the earring through his pierced earlobe.

As she pulled her hand back she couldn't help, but trail her fingers over the huge scar that covered the right side of his face and the fresh cuts that surrounded it. "You've gone too far for that old geezer, haven't you?"

No response.

She might as well just tell him everything, he wouldn't hear any of it anyway. "So we used to date, hm? Well, if I hadn't gained some of my memories back, I would've never guessed that."

She smirked, "I'm not the type for long-term relationships, ya know? I just like to drink and hang out with guys, and occasionally bring one home. Was I really that boring to be such a loyal girlfriend?"

Did the corner of his mouth just lift or did she imagine it?

"I did regain just a few memories though, so I don't really know how our relationship was... Did we fight sometimes? I bet we did." She paused. "I just don't understand why somebody would be in a serious relationship with drunk trash like me. Especially somebody like you, who is such a gentle and loyal guy. How did we ever end up together?"

She gently cupped the right side of his face once again as she pushed back some loose strains of hair behind her ear. "There is one more thing I still don't know, because I was disturbed while diving into my memories." She lowered her head, bringing her face closer to his. "Guess I'll have to find out, right?"

Suddenly somebody knocked on the door, "Cana, can I come in?"

Startled, she quickly sat up again and seated herself a bit further away from him. "Y-yes, sure Lucy, come in."

The door opened and the celestial mage walked in. She carefully seated herself on the bed, next to her friend. "He still hasn't woken up, hm?"

Cana looked at Mest's face, trying her best to ignore how close her face was to his only moments ago. She felt her cheeks heating up, Had she really just tried to kiss him while he was still unconscious? "No, but his breathing seems to be getting steadier, so I think he's in less pain now," she said back.

Lucy smiled upon seeing Cana's flustered expression. She was relieved that her friend had regained some memories. She had already been worried about how to hide it from her until Mest would eventually tell Cana himself. It was a rare sight to see the card mage so flustered, lacking self-confidence. The only time she had witnessed that before was when Cana told her about Gildarts being her father, just before they left for the S-class trials.

"Cana, how many memories did you regain?"

The card mage still didn't face the blonde girl but she knew there was no point in hiding it. "Not many," she softly said back. "How do you know about Mest and me?"

"He told us on our way to Alvarez."

Cana quickly turned her head toward her friend. "Us? As in the entire A Team?!"

Lucy silence said it all.

"That's great. Now the entire guild knows about it," Cana sarcastically said. "Can't wait to hear Mirajane's ramblings."

"You don't want to hear his part of the story?" Lucy carefully asked.

Cana avoided her friend's gaze. "I doubt you know more than I do about his mission, Lucy."

The celestial mage smiled, "I doubt that too, but do you know what he was most afraid of when he left the guild for his mission?"

Cana looked at her again and lifted an eyebrow, awaiting an answer from her friend. "Well?"

"If you never regained your memories again."

Cana's eyes widened as her cheeks attained an even brighter shade of red than they already had.

"He's still in love with you, but he was sure you wouldn't remember. He was panicking about it all the time. It was kinda adorable." Lucy chuckled.

Cana's jaw almost dropped. "Y-You mean he doesn't know I regained some memories? I thought he made me remember them in some way with his magic."

"Ze...ref."

They both turned their heads to the transportation mage. Cana blinked her eyes a few times in disbelief. "Did he really just mumble 'Zeref'?"

"I think it's time for me to leave. It won't take long until he wakes up," Lucy said as she stood up.

"Wait, don't leave me here alone with him! What do I do when he wakes up?" Cana panicky said.

Lucy froze at the threshold of the door. "Just follow your heart," she said as she winked and closed the door behind her.

Cana looked back at the scarred man's face. His eyelids twitched and his mouth moved once more.

"Ze...ref was th...ere," he mumbled as he gritted his teeth in pain.

She pressed her hand onto his shoulder. "It's okay, you're safe now. You escaped from Zeref just in time." She rubbed her thumb in circles over his skin to help him relax again, he must be having a nightmare about what just happened earlier today.

His eyelids twitched once more and slowly he opened his eyes.

Cana looked at him in disbelief. "You woke up! Thank Mavis!"

He blinked a few times and quickly sat up, almost throwing Cana aside. "What happened? Where am I?" He grasped his hair with both hands like a crazy person. "Tell me! I need to know!"

"Calm down, you moron!" Cana chided as she leaned over him and grabbed his shoulders once again, forcing him to lay back down.

He almost jumped up because he hadn't noticed her earlier. "C-Cana?" he stuttered as he looked up at her with blood shot eyes. "W-why are you here? What happened to me?"

She realised how awkward her position actually was, practically pinning him down beneath her…She let go of him and sat herself down on the edge of the bed again. "You passed out."

"I see…" He sat up again, pressing his palm against his forehead. "Could you please tell me what happened?"

"Sure thing, but in exchange, you'll have to tell me everything as well," Cana said in her bravest voice. The man gave her a look of puzzlement as he lamely scratched his forehead. Cana chuckled. "You know what I'm talking about, Mest."

Thanks for reading :D I really hope you guys will like the final chapter next week!

And also; this may be far fetched, but have more people noticed that in the current manga chapters, the only guildmembers that are nowhere to be seen are Mest and Cana? Kinda suspicious, hm? ;)

Today another crackship had some unexpected hints (Lyon x Merudy)

You never know how things will turn out for ships ^^


	7. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! The final chapter!
> 
> I'd like to thank all of you who read this fic till this end, I was really surprised by the amount of positive feedback over the past few months.
> 
> Enjoy this very last chapter ^^

"You know what I'm talking about, Mest."

He looked at her from underneath his hand that still covered his aching forehead. His jaw slightly dropped. "How—"

"I regained some of my memories over the last few days," Cana said, trying not to let any emotion show in her voice.

He looked at her in awe. "So you know that we.. you know.. used to—"

"—to date? Yes, I know," she quickly said back.

"Well that's a relief." He sighed as he dropped his hand. He looked at her with one of his rare smiles. "Now I don't have to tell you myself."

Cana felt her heartbeat double. The tension that hadn't been there when he was still asleep slowly started to grow. She had hoped their confrontation on this topic would be easy to handle, but she realised how naive she had been. Of course it wouldn't be easy.

"Just how long have you been walking around with this secret?" Cana asked, slightly raising her voice. "And why didn't you tell me right away when we were talking at the bar?"

Mest could hear how upset she was even though she tried so hard not to let it show. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes, I'd really like to," she said, her voice seemed to have calmed down a little.

He started to sit up up straighter, revealing his whole upper body. On the places where a lot of pressure and, later, internal bleedings have been, bruises had started to appear, leaving huge purple spots on his muscled abdomen. He cringed in pain as he finally managed to sit fully up.

"As you might have already heard, I regained my memories for the second time, just after the battle against Tartaros. Makarov made my guildmark reappear, but decided to disband the guild shortly after that. He made me quit my mission—which I had been on since I left the guild as a boy. Honestly, I had no idea what to do after that. All my friends and colleagues had been killed by the bombing of the council, and you guys still didn't remember me." He looked down upon his scratched hands, which he had folded in his lap.

Was he shaking?

Mest continued speaking, "I was confused and the headaches were more terrible than usual. I regained years of memories in just 3 days' time. My brain has endured a lot of memory manipulation magic so I've almost gotten used to all the migraine attacks..."

Cana's eyes widened as she slowly connected answers to the questions that still haunted her. "I had the same experience shortly after you appeared at the construction site. So those headaches were actually just memories returning to my brain?"

"Indeed."

"But if you regained them shortly after Tartaros, why didn't you visit us back then? Why did you wait until we reformed the guild?"

"I was unsure and I didn't know who to trust anymore. Confronting all of you head on would have been too much for me. I've asked several former Fairy Tail employees how you guys coped with Makarov's decision…and I heard you left on a journey to go looking for your father. I desperately tried to find you, hoping you hadn't already left the city. But you did."

A moment of silence buzzed between them as Cana took in Mest's words.

"I knew you guys would never really leave Fairy Tail so eventually all of you would gather once again in Magnolia. Until that time came, I stayed close to Magnolia. I actually moved to a small house in a town close to Magnolia and slowly my life was getting back on the rails again. I decided to ask Makarov for a favour since he had connections that could provide me a job, but just a few weeks after the Guild was disbanded, he had disappeared..."

"So that's why you said you had been waiting for us to return..." Cana softly said.

He nodded, still avoiding any form of eye contact. "I have been in touch with the Oracion Seis, which are now part of Crime Sorcière. They helped me gather information about the events in the other continent and around that time, they had information on Makarov. Jellal mentioned that Erza had teamed up with Natsu, Gray, and Lucy. I just knew they would return to Magnolia and when I arrived at the former Guild Hall and saw that all of you had shown up…I- I j-just—" He buried his face into the pit of his elbow and his shoulders started to shake.

Cana looked in awe at the man that was breaking down right in front of her. Never had she realised how broken he was, how all the events in the past few years had mentally and physically scarred him.

In those 11 years, he had never had somebody to truly lean on... 11 years of not knowing who he truly was or where he belonged.

She felt tears prickle behind her eyes. His story sure is sad,she thought, but why do I have to cry as well? The same happened when I had those flashbacks about us. Does my heart remember more than my mind does?

"A-and about us," he said in a trembling voice, "I-I really wanted to tell you yesterday, but when I realised none of your memories h-had returned I just—"

Suddenly he felt a warm pressure upon the arm that covered his face. He looked up and saw that Cana had moved closer to him and had rested her hand on his forearm. He stared into her deep purple eyes that seemed reddish on the sides. Had she been crying too?

"It's okay, you've been through a lot," she said in an oddly calm voice. "If you want to talk about us later, that's okay."

"No, Cana! It's not okay!" he suddenly yelled. Cana jerked her hand off his arm as she leaned back, surprised by his reaction. "I've been waiting to tell you this for a year now. A year! Do you think a few hours would make any difference?!"

Now that they finally made eye contact, she could see how worn out he looked like, bags underneath his eyes and his random facial hair that started to grow back at a few spots. The stress could be read from his face alone. His desperate expression made her feel helpless. She wouldn't want him to tell him about them in this condition, but she knew he wouldn't want to wait any longer.

"I see…" she said, turning her head away to avoid any more awkward eye contact. "Well, go ahead then. I'll listen."

"Are you still sure it's okay for me to just join you guys?"

"Don't be so stupid, of course it's okay! You're part of the guild and you were the one who saved Gramps for crap's sake!"

"I know, but—"

"No more buts, just walk in!" Cana said, pushing him through the doors of the new guildhall.

He almost tripped over the doorstep and as soon as he regained his balance and looked up, he could see a scene that almost instantly moved him to tears. The guildhall was lively as ever, bustling with many people. He looked around in disbelief. Was he really awake?

"Hurry up to the bar, would ya?" Cana made an attempt to push him forward, but he wouldn't budge—not even an inch. She walked around him. "Hey, come on! What are you waiting fo—" She stopped when she saw his face. Tears streaming down his marked cheeks and he stared at the crowd with trembling lips. "Mest? Are you okay?" Cana asked as she laid a hand on his bare shoulder.

When he felt her surprisingly cold hand on his heated skin, he finally came back to reality. He looked aside, right into Cana's eyes. "I- I'm sorry," he said as he quickly wiped away his tears. "I just can't believe we managed to gather everybody here. I'm so glad."

She smiled as she looked at her fellow guildmates, drinking and having fun. "It's really amazing how things turned out, eh?"

"It sure is," he said back and one of his rare smiles appeared on his face. He wasn't even looking at the crowd anymore. The only thing that caught his sight now was the incredible mage next to him. Her deep purple eyes shimmered with signs of fresh tears—tears of joy.

"You know, Cana. Now everybody is here in one place, wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to tell everyon—"

He couldn't finish his sentence as Macao suddenly jumped up from his chair at the bar and bellowed, "I would like to toast upon the return of our Guildmaster Makarov and all of our members!" He raised his bottle of beer and everybody hollered and cheered while they raised theirs as well.

Cana turned back to Mest. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, the perfect opportunity to…?"

He sighed, "To tell everyone—" Oh screw it.

He turned to face her fully and before she even knew what was going on, he had captured her lips with his. For a moment, she thought of pushing him away for doing such a reckless thing since nobody knew about them being together again, but the feeling that overcame her was more powerful.

The noises of the background seemed to fade as she willingly returned the kiss. Her hand cupped his scarred cheek and she travelled her fingers over the deep scar that marked it. She didn't know why, but it seems like it was just one of those things she loved about him—which she could remember now.

Even though the noise of the party had seemed to be muted during their unplanned moment, it sounded awfully quiet now…

As she pulled back from him she now realised that everyone had, indeed, fallen silent. She felt her cheeks heating up when she discovered all of their guildmates watching them.

As he opened his eyes as well, he, too, saw that all eyes were on them.

"I'd like to make a toast as well," Lucy called out. Cana looked over at her, thankful that she was drawing the attention away from them. The celestial mage gave her a private wink, and with her beer glass held up proudly, she exclaimed, "Let's toast upon our new couple!"

And, once again, everybody raised their glasses and cheered, except this time, if possible, they were louder than ever before.

Cana looked back at Mest again, still heavily blushing. He smiled upon seeing her so flustered.

She rarely blushed, which was a shame, since it sure looked cute.

"I meant to say, 'To tell everyone we're officially together again,' but I think my version was more effective." He grinned.

She landed a fist on his chest. "Never do such a thing in public again, jerk!"

He chuckled and cupped her face with one of his hands. "One more time?" he asked as he slightly tilted his head. "I promise I won't do it without your permission ever again."

Even though she was about to say yes—with a reluctant smile—she didn't even have a chance to answer as she, once again, found herself with her lips pressed against his.

This time, the crowd's noise didn't fade, in fact, it rose as all of the guildmembers cheered and roared with jolly laugher.

They knew everyone was watching this time, but it didn't matter now.

No matter what would happen next, this would become a new memory, forever engraved in their minds.

This moment seemed to awaken even more in Cana's mind. Memories of their past, the missing links, and even her love for the man she was kissing right now.

Some memories might not ever return, but she didn't mind.

They would have an entire future ahead of them to create new memories to replace the ones they lost.

 

"Sometimes the greatest comfort is to be wrapped securely in our memories." (Tanya Lord)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more of this crackship: There is a prequel called A Match made in Hell that's currently running and it will probably be bigger than this one ^^


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